You know the feeling. You’ve been giving it all you’ve got… trying as hard as you can… pushing and pulling with all your might… And you’ve been going at it this way for so long!
But now there’s nothing left in you to go any further. You’re out of gas. You realize it’s not going to happen—this giant is just too big. It’s time to pull the plug, throw in the towel, call it quits.
In a word, you lose heart.
It happens to the best. David regularly came to the end of his rope. At one very low point he said, in effect, “You know, someday Saul is going to kill me; the best thing for me to do is run!” 1 And he did. He didn’t pray about it; he didn’t ask God for guidance; he didn’t remind himself of God’s promise that he’d one day be king. He just lost heart and ran.
Looking around, it’s easy to lose heart. Different ones of us are hurting financially, unemployed, confused, in difficult relationships, caring for ailing loved ones, grieving, discouraged, struggling physically, exhausted…
Maybe that’s why we have seven—count ’em, seven!—New Testament encouragements not to lose heart. I’ve listed them below, and I encourage you to thoughtfully process each of them. As you read, listen for the encouraging tone in your Savior’s voice. You can almost hear Him cheering: “Don’t give up! You can do it! It’ll be worth it! Don’t lose heart!”
As you guard your hearts, friends, don’t lose heart!
2 Luke 18:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16; Galatians 6:9; Ephesians 3:13; Colossians 3:21; Hebrews 12:3